Syd Barrett - The Madcap Laughs

 

This is yet another album that I was surprised to find that I never spoke about, as it is another demented favorite. Recorded after Syd left Pink Floyd in early 1968, it took some time to finish, as Barrett was not in his best mental shape, but his replacement in PF, David Gilmour, pulled it together into a relatively cohesive, oddball package. 

The songs are, overall, fairly mellow and acid-drenched, opening with the quiet, pretty ballad "Terrapin" that moves into a more upbeat, Pink Floyd-ish psych-pop with "No Good Trying" - although there's a bit of odd rhythms here'n'there, this one sounds like it could have been a pop single in the PF mold. "Love You" is a bit of vaudeville silliness, but "No Man's Land" is a well-written bit of hip psych with a nice melody and a trippy mid-section, although "Dark Globe" shows Syd's more erratic side, with his voice cracking and him losing his place in a song that would have been a strong one if it had been edited with a bit more sympathy. "Here I Go" is somewhat rambling and sorta forgettable, even with some nice changes, and while "Octopus" goes off on some unusual tangents, it is one of his better songs, with a strong chorus and tripped out lyrics. Syd adapts James Joyce's poem "Golden Hair" into a sweet, pretty ballad, "Long Gone" could easily be a Pink Floyd outtake with its soaring organ work, "She Took a Long Cold Look" seems more improvisational and Syd almost trips over himself trying to fit all of the words into "Feel" followed by embarrassing vocal mistakes and missteps that are left in and, again, should have been edited to make "If It's In You" more of a traditional song, although I suppose it shows Syd's mental state in this fashion. It all ends with "Late Night", another powerful ballad that includes someone's melodic slide guitar work and one of Syd's better vocal performances.

I truly love this record for its songs as well as its look into the mind of a slightly deranged but brilliant artist. David Gilmore - and Roger Waters - did a lot to make this a somewhat coherent statement, but, as I noted, there could have been just a touch more work done to remove some of the embarrassment. Regardless, this is a true psych pop classic.